Interactive gaming utilizing a dispersed storage network

ABSTRACT

Game data is received at a dispersed storage processing unit, the game data associated with at least one of a plurality of user devices. The game data is stored in a cache memory associated with the dispersed storage processing unit. Dispersed storage metadata associated with the cached game data is generated. A data block is generated based on the cached game data and further based on the dispersed storage metadata. The data block is stored in a dispersed storage network.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS

The present U.S. Utility patent application claims priority pursuant to35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/246,818,entitled “SOCIAL NETWORKING UTILIZING A DISTRIBUTED STORAGE NETWORK”having Attorney Docket No. CS203, filed Sep. 29, 2009, pending, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made part of thepresent U.S. Utility patent application for all purposes.

The present application is related to the U.S. patent applicationentitled, SOCIAL NETWORKING UTILIZING A DISPERSED STORAGE NETWORK, filedon May 28, 2010 having Attorney Docket No. CS203, and application Ser.No. 12/789,459.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to computing systems and moreparticularly to data storage solutions within such computing systems.

2. Description of Related Art

Computers are known to communicate, process, and store data. Suchcomputers range from wireless smart phones to data centers that supportmillions of web searches, stock trades, or on-line purchases every day.In general, a computing system generates data and/or manipulates datafrom one form into another. For instance, an image sensor of thecomputing system generates raw picture data and, using an imagecompression program (e.g., JPEG, MPEG, etc.), the computing systemmanipulates the raw picture data into a standardized compressed image.

With continued advances in processing speed and communication speed,computers are capable of processing real time multimedia data forapplications ranging from simple voice communications to streaming highdefinition video. As such, general-purpose information appliances arereplacing purpose-built communications devices (e.g., a telephone). Forexample, smart phones can support telephony communications but they arealso capable of text messaging and accessing the internet to performfunctions including email, web browsing, remote applications access, andmedia communications (e.g., telephony voice, image transfer, musicfiles, video files, real time video streaming. etc.).

Each type of computer is constructed and operates in accordance with oneor more communication, processing, and storage standards. As a result ofstandardization and with advances in technology, more and moreinformation content is being converted into digital formats. Forexample, more digital cameras are now being sold than film cameras, thusproducing more digital pictures. As another example, web-basedprogramming is becoming an alternative to over the air televisionbroadcasts and/or cable broadcasts. As further examples, papers, books,video entertainment, home video, etc. are now being stored digitally,which increases the demand on the storage function of computers.

A typical computer storage system includes one or more memory devicesaligned with the needs of the various operational aspects of thecomputer's processing and communication functions. Generally, theimmediacy of access dictates what type of memory device is used. Forexample, random access memory (RAM) memory can be accessed in any randomorder with a constant response time, thus it is typically used for cachememory and main memory. By contrast, memory device technologies thatrequire physical movement such as magnetic disks, tapes, and opticaldiscs, have a variable response time as the physical movement can takelonger than the data transfer, thus they are typically used forsecondary memory (e.g., hard drive, backup memory, etc.).

A computer's storage system will be compliant with one or more computerstorage standards that include, but are not limited to, network filesystem (NFS), flash file system (FFS), disk file system (DFS), smallcomputer system interface (SCSI), internet small computer systeminterface (iSCSI), file transfer protocol (FTP), and web-baseddistributed authoring and versioning (WebDAV). These standards specifythe data storage format (e.g., files, data objects, data blocks,directories, etc.) and interfacing between the computer's processingfunction and its storage system, which is a primary function of thecomputer's memory controller.

Despite the standardization of the computer and its storage system,memory devices fail; especially commercial grade memory devices thatutilize technologies incorporating physical movement (e.g., a discdrive). For example, it is fairly common for a disc drive to routinelysuffer from bit level corruption and to completely fail after threeyears of use. One solution is to a higher-grade disc drive, which addssignificant cost to a computer.

Another solution is to utilize multiple levels of redundant disc drivesto replicate the data into two or more copies. One such redundant driveapproach is called redundant array of independent discs (RAID). In aRAID device, a RAID controller adds parity data to the original databefore storing it across the array. The parity data is calculated fromthe original data such that the failure of a disc will not result in theloss of the original data. For example, RAID 5 uses three discs toprotect data from the failure of a single disc. The parity data, andassociated redundancy overhead data, reduces the storage capacity ofthree independent discs by one third (e.g., n−1=capacity). RAID 6 canrecover from a loss of two discs and requires a minimum of four discswith a storage capacity of n−2.

While RAID addresses the memory device failure issue, it is not withoutits own failures issues that affect its effectiveness, efficiency andsecurity. For instance, as more discs are added to the array, theprobability of a disc failure increases, which increases the demand formaintenance. For example, when a disc fails, it needs to be manuallyreplaced before another disc fails and the data stored in the RAIDdevice is lost. To reduce the risk of data loss, data on a RAID deviceis typically copied on to one or more other RAID devices. While thisaddresses the loss of data issue, it raises a security issue sincemultiple copies of data are available, which increases the chances ofunauthorized access. Further, as the amount of data being stored grows,the overhead of RAID devices becomes a non-trivial efficiency issue.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computingsystem 10 in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computing core26 in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a dispersedstorage processing unit 16 in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a grid module 64in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example embodiment of error coded data slicecreation in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a computingsystem in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the storing of social networking datain accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the retrieving of social networkinginformation in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a computingsystem in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the storing of gaming data inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 11 is another flowchart illustrating the storing of gaming data inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a computing system 10 thatincludes one or more of a first type of user devices 12, one or more ofa second type of user devices 14, at least one dispersed storage (DS)processing unit 16, at least one DS managing unit 18, at least onestorage integrity processing unit 20, and a dispersed storage network(DSN) memory 22 coupled via a network 24. The network 24 may include oneor more wireless and/or wire lined communication systems; one or moreprivate intranet systems and/or public internet systems; and/or one ormore local area networks (LAN) and/or wide area networks (WAN).

The DSN memory 22 includes a plurality of dispersed storage (DS) units36 for storing data of the system. Each of the DS units 36 includes aprocessing module and memory and may be located at a geographicallydifferent site than the other DS units (e.g., one in Chicago, one inMilwaukee, etc.). The processing module may be a single processingdevice or a plurality of processing devices. Such a processing devicemay be a microprocessor, micro-controller, digital signal processor,microcomputer, central processing unit, field programmable gate array,programmable logic device, state machine, logic circuitry, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device that manipulates signals(analog and/or digital) based on hard coding of the circuitry and/oroperational instructions. The processing module may have an associatedmemory and/or memory element, which may be a single memory device, aplurality of memory devices, and/or embedded circuitry of the processingmodule. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory, random accessmemory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamicmemory, flash memory, cache memory, and/or any device that storesdigital information. Note that if the processing module includes morethan one processing device, the processing devices may be centrallylocated (e.g., directly coupled together via a wired and/or wireless busstructure) or may be distributedly located (e.g., cloud computing viaindirect coupling via a local area network and/or a wide area network).Further note that when the processing module implements one or more ofits functions via a state machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry,and/or logic circuitry, the memory and/or memory element storing thecorresponding operational instructions may be embedded within, orexternal to, the circuitry comprising the state machine, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry. Still further notethat, the memory element stores, and the processing module executes,hard coded and/or operational instructions corresponding to at leastsome of the steps and/or functions illustrated in FIGS. 1-11.

Each of the user devices 12-14, the DS processing unit 16, the DSmanaging unit 18, and the storage integrity processing unit 20 may be aportable computing device (e.g., a social networking device, a gamingdevice, a cell phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, adigital music player, a digital video player, a laptop computer, ahandheld computer, a video game controller, and/or any other portabledevice that includes a computing core) and/or a fixed computing device(e.g., a personal computer, a computer server, a cable set-top box, asatellite receiver, a television set, a printer, a fax machine, homeentertainment equipment, a video game console, and/or any type of homeor office computing equipment). Such a portable or fixed computingdevice includes a computing core 26 and one or more interfaces 30, 32,and/or 33. An embodiment of the computing core 26 will be described withreference to FIG. 2.

With respect to the interfaces, each of the interfaces 30, 32, and 33includes software and/or hardware to support one or more communicationlinks via the network 24 and/or directly. For example, interfaces 30support a communication link (wired, wireless, direct, via a LAN, viathe network 24, etc.) between the first type of user device 14 and theDS processing unit 16. As another example, DSN interface 32 supports aplurality of communication links via the network 24 between the DSNmemory 22 and the DS processing unit 16, the first type of user device12, and/or the storage integrity processing unit 20. As yet anotherexample, interface 33 supports a communication link between the DSmanaging unit 18 and any one of the other devices and/or units 12, 14,16, 20, and/or 22 via the network 24.

In general and with respect to data storage, the system 10 supportsthree primary functions: distributed network data storage management,distributed data storage and retrieval, and data storage integrityverification. In accordance with these three primary functions, data canbe distributedly stored in a plurality of physically different locationsand subsequently retrieved in a reliable and secure manner regardless offailures of individual storage devices, failures of network equipment,the duration of storage, the amount of data being stored, attempts athacking the data, etc.

The DS managing unit 18 performs distributed network data storagemanagement functions, which include establishing distributed datastorage parameters, performing network operations, performing networkadministration, and/or performing network maintenance. The DS managingunit 18 establishes the distributed data storage parameters (e.g.,allocation of virtual DSN memory space, dispersed storage parameters,security parameters, billing information, user profile information,etc.) for one or more of the user devices 12-14 (e.g., established forindividual devices, established for a user group of devices, establishedfor public access by the user devices, etc.). For example, the DSmanaging unit 18 coordinates the creation of a vault (e.g., a virtualmemory block) within the DSN memory 22 for a user device (for a group ofdevices, or for public access). The DS managing unit 18 also determinesthe distributed data storage parameters for the vault. In particular,the DS managing unit 18 determines a number of slices (e.g., the numberthat a data segment of a data file and/or data block is partitioned intofor dispersed storage) and a read threshold value (e.g., the minimumnumber of slices required to reconstruct the data segment).

As another example, the DS managing module 18 creates and stores,locally or within the DSN memory 22, user profile information. The userprofile information includes one or more of authentication information,permissions, and/or the security parameters. The security parameters mayinclude one or more of encryption/decryption scheme, one or moreencryption keys, key generation scheme, and data encoding/decodingscheme.

As yet another example, the DS managing unit 18 creates billinginformation for a particular user, user group, vault access, publicvault access, etc. For instance, the DS managing unit 18 tracks thenumber of times user accesses a private vault and/or public vaults,which can be used to generate a per-access bill. In another instance,the DS managing unit 18 tracks the amount of data stored and/orretrieved by a user device and/or a user group, which can be used togenerate a per-data-amount bill.

The DS managing unit 18 also performs network operations, networkadministration, and/or network maintenance. As at least part ofperforming the network operations and/or administration, the DS managingunit 18 monitors performance of the devices and/or units of the system10 for potential failures, determines the devices and/or unit'sactivation status, determines the devices' and/or units' loading, andany other system level operation that affects the performance level ofthe system 10. For example, the DS managing unit 18 receives andaggregates network management alarms, alerts, errors, statusinformation, performance information, and messages from the devices12-14 and/or the units 16, 20, 22. For example, the DS managing unit 18receives a simple network management protocol (SNMP) message regardingthe status of the DS processing unit 16.

The DS managing unit 18 performs the network maintenance by identifyingequipment within the system 10 that needs replacing, upgrading,repairing, and/or expanding. For example, the DS managing unit 18determines that the DSN memory 22 needs more DS units 36 or that one ormore of the DS units 36 needs updating.

The second primary function (i.e., distributed data storage andretrieval) begins and ends with a user device 12-14. For instance, if asecond type of user device 14 has a data file 38 and/or data block 40 tostore in the DSN memory 22, it send the data file 38 and/or data block40 to the DS processing unit 16 via its interface 30. As will bedescribed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 2, the interface 30functions to mimic a conventional operating system (OS) file systeminterface (e.g., network file system (NFS), flash file system (FFS),disk file system (DFS), file transfer protocol (FTP), web-baseddistributed authoring and versioning (WebDAV), etc.) and/or a blockmemory interface (e.g., small computer system interface (SCSI), internetsmall computer system interface (iSCSI), etc.). In addition, theinterface 30 may attach a user identification code (ID) to the data file38 and/or data block 40.

The DS processing unit 16 receives the data file 38 and/or data block 40via its interface 30 and performs a dispersed storage (DS) process 34thereon (e.g., an error coding dispersal storage function). The DSprocessing 34 begins by partitioning the data file 38 and/or data block40 into one or more data segments, which is represented as Y datasegments. For example, the DS processing 34 may partition the data file38 and/or data block 40 into a fixed byte size segment (e.g., 2¹ to2^(n) bytes, where n=>2) or a variable byte size (e.g., change byte sizefrom segment to segment, or from groups of segments to groups ofsegments, etc.).

For each of the Y data segments, the DS processing 34 error encodes(e.g., forward error correction (FEC), information dispersal algorithm,or error correction coding) and slices (or slices then error encodes)the data segment into a plurality of error coded (EC) data slices 42-48,which is represented as X slices per data segment. The number of slices(X) per segment, which corresponds to a number of pillars n, is set inaccordance with the distributed data storage parameters and the errorcoding scheme. For example, if a Reed-Solomon (or other FEC scheme) isused in an n/k system, then a data segment is divided into n slices,where k number of slices is needed to reconstruct the original data(i.e., k is the threshold). As a few specific examples, the n/k factormay be 5/3; 6/4; 8/6; 8/5; 16/10.

For each slice 42-48, the DS processing unit 16 creates a unique slicename and appends it to the corresponding slice 42-48. The slice nameincludes universal DSN memory addressing routing information (e.g.,virtual memory addresses in the DSN memory 22) and user-specificinformation (e.g., user ID, file name, data block identifier, etc.).

The DS processing unit 16 transmits the plurality of EC slices 42-48 toa plurality of DS units 36 of the DSN memory 22 via the DSN interface 32and the network 24. The DSN interface 32 formats each of the slices fortransmission via the network 24. For example, the DSN interface 32 mayutilize an internet protocol (e.g., TCP/IP, etc.) to packetize theslices 42-48 for transmission via the network 24.

The number of DS units 36 receiving the slices 42-48 is dependent on thedistributed data storage parameters established by the DS managing unit18. For example, the DS managing unit 18 may indicate that each slice isto be stored in a different DS unit 36. As another example, the DSmanaging unit 18 may indicate that like slice numbers of different datasegments are to be stored in the same DS unit 36. For example, the firstslice of each of the data segments is to be stored in a first DS unit36, the second slice of each of the data segments is to be stored in asecond DS unit 36, etc. In this manner, the data is encoded anddistributedly stored at physically diverse locations to improved datastorage integrity and security. Further examples of encoding the datasegments will be provided with reference to one or more of Figures thatfollow.

Each DS unit 36 that receives a slice 42-48 for storage translates thevirtual DSN memory address of the slice into a local physical addressfor storage. Accordingly, each DS unit 36 maintains a virtual tophysical memory mapping to assist in the storage and retrieval of data.

The first type of user device 12 performs a similar function to storedata in the DSN memory 22 with the exception that it includes the DSprocessing. As such, the device 12 encodes and slices the data fileand/or data block it has to store. The device then transmits the slices35 to the DSN memory via its DSN interface 32 and the network 24.

For a second type of user device 14 to retrieve a data file or datablock from memory, it issues a read command via its interface 30 to theDS processing unit 16. The DS processing unit 16 performs the DSprocessing 34 to identify the DS units 36 storing the slices of the datafile and/or data block based on the read command. The DS processing unit16 may also communicate with the DS managing unit 18 to verify that theuser device 14 is authorized to access the requested data.

Assuming that the user device is authorized to access the requesteddata, the DS processing unit 16 issues slice read commands to at least athreshold number of the DS units 36 storing the requested data (e.g., toat least 10 DS units for a 16/10 error coding scheme). Each of the DSunits 36 receiving the slice read command, verifies the command,accesses its virtual to physical memory mapping, retrieves the requestedslice, or slices, and transmits it to the DS processing unit 16.

Once the DS processing unit 16 has received a read threshold number ofslices for a data segment, it performs an error decoding function andde-slicing to reconstruct the data segment. When Y number of datasegments has been reconstructed, the DS processing unit 16 provides thedata file 38 and/or data block 40 to the user device 14. Note that thefirst type of user device 12 performs a similar process to retrieve adata file and/or data block.

The storage integrity processing unit 20 performs the third primaryfunction of data storage integrity verification. In general, the storageintegrity processing unit 20 periodically retrieves slices 45, and/orslice names, of a data file or data block of a user device to verifythat one or more slices have not been corrupted or lost (e.g., the DSunit failed). The retrieval process mimics the read process previouslydescribed.

If the storage integrity processing unit 20 determines that one or moreslices is corrupted or lost, it rebuilds the corrupted or lost slice(s)in accordance with the error coding scheme. The storage integrityprocessing unit 20 stores the rebuild slice, or slices, in theappropriate DS unit(s) 36 in a manner that mimics the write processpreviously described.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the DS processing unit 16 canbe implemented in either server such as a game server or socialnetworking server or a separate user device that operates in conjunctionwith such a server to play a game, such as a multiplayer game or engagein social networking. In particular, the DS processing unit 16 cancoordinate the storage and retrieval of data, such as gaming data orsocial networking data, via a dispersed storage network. Furtherexamples of such a DS processing unit 16 and dispersed storage networkincluding many optional functions and features are described inconjunction with FIGS. 2-11 that follow.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computing core26 that includes a processing module 50, a memory controller 52, mainmemory 54, a video graphics processing unit 55, an input/output (IO)controller 56, a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) interface 58,at least one IO device interface module 62, a read only memory (ROM)basic input output system (BIOS) 64, and one or more memory interfacemodules. The memory interface module(s) includes one or more of auniversal serial bus (USB) interface module 66, a host bus adapter (HBA)interface module 68, a network interface module 70, a flash interfacemodule 72, a hard drive interface module 74, and a DSN interface module76. Note the DSN interface module 76 and/or the network interface module70 may function as the interface 30 of the user device 14 of FIG. 1.Further note that the IO device interface module 62 and/or the memoryinterface modules may be collectively or individually referred to as IOports.

The processing module 50 may be a single processing device or aplurality of processing devices. Such a processing device may be amicroprocessor, micro-controller, digital signal processor,microcomputer, central processing unit, field programmable gate array,programmable logic device, state machine, logic circuitry, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device that manipulates signals(analog and/or digital) based on hard coding of the circuitry and/oroperational instructions. The processing module 50 may have anassociated memory and/or memory element, which may be a single memorydevice, a plurality of memory devices, and/or embedded circuitry of theprocessing module 50. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory,random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, staticmemory, dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, and/or any devicethat stores digital information. Note that if the processing module 50includes more than one processing device, the processing devices may becentrally located (e.g., directly coupled together via a wired and/orwireless bus structure) or may be distributedly located (e.g., cloudcomputing via indirect coupling via a local area network and/or a widearea network). Further note that when the processing module 50implements one or more of its functions via a state machine, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry, the memory and/ormemory element storing the corresponding operational instructions may beembedded within, or external to, the circuitry comprising the statemachine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry.Still further note that, the memory element stores, and the processingmodule 50 executes, hard coded and/or operational instructionscorresponding to at least some of the steps and/or functions illustratedin FIGS. 1-11.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a dispersedstorage (DS) processing module 34 of user device 12 and/or of the DSprocessing unit 16. The DS processing module 34 includes a gatewaymodule 78, an access module 80, a grid module 82, and a storage module84. The DS processing module 34 may also include an interface 30 and theDSnet interface 32 or the interfaces 68 and/or 70 may be part of user 12or of the DS processing unit 14. The DS processing module 34 may furtherinclude a bypass/feedback path between the storage module 84 to thegateway module 78.

In an example of storing data, the gateway module 78 receives anincoming data object (e.g., a data file, a data block, an EC data slice,etc.) that includes a user ID field 86, an object name field 88, and thedata field 40. The gateway module 78 authenticates the user associatedwith the data object by verifying the user ID 86 with the managing unit18 and/or another authenticating unit. When the user is authenticated,the gateway module 78 obtains user information from the management unit18, the user device, and/or the other authenticating unit. The userinformation includes a vault identifier, operational parameters, anduser attributes (e.g., user data, billing information, etc.). A vaultidentifier identifies a vault, which is a virtual memory space that mapsto a set of DS storage units 36. For example, vault 1 (i.e., user 1'sDSN memory space) includes eight DS storage units (X=8 wide) and vault 2(i.e., user 2's DSN memory space) includes sixteen DS storage units(X=16 wide). The operational parameters may include an error codingalgorithm, the width n (number of pillars X or slices per segment forthis vault), a read threshold T, an encryption algorithm, a slicingparameter, a compression algorithm, an integrity check method, cachingsettings, parallelism settings, and/or other parameters that may be usedto access the DSN memory layer.

The gateway module uses the user information to assign a source name tothe data. For instance, the gateway module 60 determines the source nameof the data object 40 based on the vault identifier and the data object.For example, the source name may contain a data name (block number or afile number), the vault generation number, the reserved field, and thevault identifier. The data name may be randomly assigned but isassociated with the user data object.

The access module 62 receives the data object 40 and creates a series ofdata segments 1 through Y 90-92 therefrom. The number of segments Y maybe chosen or randomly assigned based on a selected segment size and thesize of the data object. For example, if the number of segments ischosen to be a fixed number, then the size of the segments varies as afunction of the size of the data object. For instance, if the dataobject is an image file of 4,194,304 eight bit bytes (e.g., 33,554,432bits) and the number of segments Y=131,072, then each segment is 256bits or 32 bytes. As another example, if segment sized is fixed, thenthe number of segments Y varies based on the size of data object. Forinstance, if the data object is an image file of 4,194,304 bytes and thefixed size of each segment is 4,096 bytes, the then number of segmentsY=1,024. Note that each segment is associated with the source name.

The grid module 82 may pre-manipulate (e.g., compression, encryption,cyclic redundancy check (CRC), etc.) each of the data segments beforeperforming an error coding function of the error coding dispersalstorage function to produce a pre-manipulated data segment. The gridmodule 82 then error encodes (e.g., Reed-Solomon, Convolution encoding,Trellis encoding, etc.) the data segment or pre-manipulated data segmentinto X error coded data slices 42-44. The grid module 64 determines aunique slice name for each error coded data slice and attaches it to thedata slice.

The value X, or the number of pillars (e.g., X=16), is chosen as aparameter of the error coding dispersal storage function. Otherparameters of the error coding dispersal function include a readthreshold T, a write threshold W, etc. The read threshold (e.g., T=10,when X=16) corresponds to the minimum number of error-free error codeddata slices required to reconstruct the data segment. In other words,the DS processing module 34 can compensate for X−T (e.g., 16−10=6)missing error coded data slices per data segment. The write threshold Wcorresponds to a minimum number of DS storage units that acknowledgeproper storage of their respective data slices before the DS processingmodule indicates proper storage of the encoded data segment. Note thatthe write threshold is greater than or equal to the read threshold for agiven number of pillars (X).

The grid module 82 also determines which of the DS storage units 36 willstore the EC data slices based on a dispersed storage memory mappingassociated with the user's vault and/or DS storage unit 36 attributes.The DS storage unit attributes includes availability, self-selection,performance history, link speed, link latency, ownership, available DSNmemory, domain, cost, a prioritization scheme, a centralized selectionmessage from another source, a lookup table, data ownership, and/or anyother factor to optimize the operation of the computing system. Notethat the number of DS storage units 36 is equal to or greater than thenumber of pillars (e.g., X) so that no more than one error coded dataslice of the same data segment is stored on the same DS storage unit 36.Further note that EC data slices of the same pillar number but ofdifferent segments (e.g., EC data slice 1 of data segment 1 and EC dataslice 1 of data segment 2) may be stored on the same or different DSstorage units 36.

The storage module 84 performs an integrity check on the EC data slicesand, when successful, transmits the EC data slices 1 through X of eachsegment 1 through Y to the DS Storage units. Each of the DS storageunits 36 stores its EC data slice and keeps a table to convert thevirtual DSN address of the EC data slice into physical storageaddresses.

In an example of a read operation, the user device 12 and/or 14 sends aread request to the DS processing unit 14, which authenticates therequest. When the request is authentic, the DS processing unit 14 sendsa read message to each of the DS storage units 36 storing slices of thedata object being read. The slices are received via the DSnet interface32 and processed by the storage module 84, which performs a parity checkand provides the slices to the grid module 82 when the parity check wassuccessful. The grid module 82 decodes the slices in accordance with theerror coding dispersal storage function to reconstruct the data segment.The access module 80 reconstructs the data object from the data segmentsand the gateway module 78 formats the data object for transmission tothe user device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a grid module 82that includes a control unit 73, a pre-data manipulator 75, an encoder77, a slicer 79, a post-data manipulator 81, a pre-data de-manipulator83, a decoder 85, a de-slicer 87, and/or a post-data de-manipulator 89.Note that the control unit 73 may be partially or completely external tothe grid module 82. For example, the control unit 73 may be part of thecomputing core at a remote location, part of a user device, part of theDS managing unit 18, or distributed amongst one or more DS storageunits.

In an example of write operation, the pre-data manipulator 75 receives adata segment 90-92 and a write instruction from an authorized userdevice. The pre-data manipulator 75 determines if pre-manipulation ofthe data segment 90-92 is required and, if so, what type. The pre-datamanipulator 75 may make the determination independently or based oninstructions from the control unit 73, where the determination is baseda computing system-wide predetermination, a table lookup, vaultparameters associated with the user identification, the type of data,security requirements, available DSN memory, performance requirements,and/or other metadata.

Once a positive determination is made, the pre-data manipulator 75manipulates the data segment 90-92 in accordance with the type ofmanipulation. For example, the type of manipulation may be compression(e.g., Lempel-Ziv-Welch, Huffman, Golomb, fractal, wavelet, etc.),signatures (e.g., Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA), Elliptic Curve DSA,Secure Hash Algorithm, etc.), watermarking, tagging, encryption (e.g.,Data Encryption Standard, Advanced Encryption Standard, etc.), addingmetadata (e.g., time/date stamping, user information, file type, etc.),cyclic redundancy check (e.g., CRC32), and/or other data manipulationsto produce the pre-manipulated data segment.

The encoder 77 encodes the pre-manipulated data segment 92 using aforward error correction (FEC) encoder (and/or other type of erasurecoding and/or error coding) to produce an encoded data segment 94. Theencoder 77 determines which forward error correction algorithm to usebased on a predetermination associated with the user's vault, a timebased algorithm, user direction, DS managing unit direction, controlunit direction, as a function of the data type, as a function of thedata segment 92 metadata, and/or any other factor to determine algorithmtype. The forward error correction algorithm may be Golay,Multidimensional parity, Reed-Solomon, Hamming, Bose Ray ChauduriHocquenghem (BCH), Cauchy-Reed-Solomon, or any other FEC encoder. Notethat the encoder 77 may use a different encoding algorithm for each datasegment 92, the same encoding algorithm for the data segments 92 of adata object, or a combination thereof.

The encoded data segment 94 is of greater size than the data segment 92by the overhead rate of the encoding algorithm by a factor of d*(X/T),where d is size of the data segment 92, X is the width or number ofslices, and T is the read threshold. In this regard, the correspondingdecoding process can accommodate at most X−T missing EC data slices andstill recreate the data segment 92. For example, if X=16 and T=10, thenthe data segment 92 will be recoverable as long as 10 or more EC dataslices per segment are not corrupted.

The slicer 79 transforms the encoded data segment 94 into EC data slicesin accordance with the slicing parameter from the vault for this userand/or data segment 92. For example, if the slicing parameter is X=16,then the slicer slices each encoded data segment 94 into 16 encodedslices.

The post-data manipulator 81 performs, if enabled, post-manipulation onthe encoded slices to produce the EC data slices. If enabled, thepost-data manipulator 81 determines the type of post-manipulation, whichmay be based on a computing system-wide predetermination, parameters inthe vault for this user, a table lookup, the user identification, thetype of data, security requirements, available DSN memory, performancerequirements, control unit directed, and/or other metadata. Note thatthe type of post-data manipulation may include slice level compression,signatures, encryption, CRC, addressing, watermarking, tagging, addingmetadata, and/or other manipulation to improve the effectiveness of thecomputing system.

In an example of a read operation, the post-data de-manipulator 89receives at least a read threshold number of EC data slices and performsthe inverse function of the post-data manipulator 81 to produce aplurality of encoded slices. The de-slicer 87 de-slices the encodedslices to produce an encoded data segment 94. The decoder 85 performsthe inverse function of the encoder 77 to recapture the data segment90-92. The pre-data de-manipulator 83 performs the inverse function ofthe pre-data manipulator 75 to recapture the data segment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of slicing an encoded data segment 94by the slicer 79. In this example, the encoded data segment includesthirty-two bits, but may include more or less bits. The slicer 79disperses the bits of the encoded data segment 94 across the EC dataslices in a pattern as shown. As such, each EC data slice does notinclude consecutive bits of the data segment 94 reducing the impact ofconsecutive bit failures on data recovery. For example, if EC data slice2 (which includes bits 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 25, and 29) is unavailable(e.g., lost, inaccessible, or corrupted), the data segment can bereconstructed from the other EC data slices (e.g., 1, 3 and 4 for a readthreshold of 3 and a width of 4).

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a computingsystem that includes a plurality of user devices 12 and 14, the network24, a DS processing unit 16, and the DSN memory 32. As shown, DSprocessing unit 16 is included in either a social networking server 110that supports the operation of one or more social networkingapplications or is included in a user device 12′ that operates as userdevice 12 and further supports the operation of one or more socialnetworking applications.

The plurality of user devices 12 and 14 includes the computing core 26as previously described to support DS processing 34 and other functionssuch as social networking applications. In addition, one or more userdevices 12 further include a memory 100 operating in a similar fashionto DS units 36 to store dispersed storage data. For example, thecomputing core 26 executes the social networking application andoptionally stores social networking data 104 (e.g., messages, media) inthe memory 100.

The DS processing unit 16 includes the computing core 26 and cachememory 102 to support DS processing 34 and other functions such associal applications. For example, the computing core 26 executes thesocial networking application and stores, in the cache memory 102, thesocial networking data 104.

The plurality of user devices 12 or 14 may communicate data with eachother, the DS processing unit 16, and/or the DSN memory 22 via thenetwork 24. The data may be comprised of EC data slices compatible withthe dispersed storage network. The data may represent social networkingdata 104. The DSN memory 22 includes the plurality of DS units 36 andmay functionally include one or more of the memories of the plurality ofuser devices 12 to store slices. For instance, the plurality of userdevices 12 may function as DS units 36 storing slices. DS units 36 maybe geographically aligned with locations of groups of user devices 12.For example, twenty DS units 36 may be aligned in Chicago where thereare two hundred thousand user devices 12 or 14 that actively participatein a first social networking group, and ten DS units 36 may be alignedin Milwaukee where there are one hundred thousand user devices thatactively participate in a second social networking group.

In an example of operation, the user device creates social networkingdata 104 and sends it to the DS processing unit 16. The DS processingunit 16 processes the social networking data 104 to produce processedinformation (e.g., a summary, linkage to other threads, ads, flags, gamestatus, etc.). The DS processing unit 16 creates EC data slices 45 basedon the processed information. The DS processing unit 16 sends the ECdata slices 45 to the DSN memory 22 with a store command. At least oneof the user devices 12 or 14 may send a message to the DS processingunit 16 that contains a request for processed information. The DSprocessing unit 16 may push or otherwise send a portion of the processedinformation and/or the EC data slices 45 of the processed information toone or more of the user devices 12 or 14 based on the request and/orbased on another factor (e.g., a push data indicator, from time to time,topic, a priority, content of the processed social networking data,etc.).

In another example of operation, the DS processing unit 16 isimplemented in a user device 12 or 14′ that creates social networkingdata 104 and processes the social networking data 104 to produceprocessed information. The user device 12′ creates EC data slices 45based on the processed information. The user device 12′ sends the ECdata slices 45 to the DSN memory 22 with a store command. At least oneof the other user devices 12 or 14 may send a message to the user device12′ that contains a request for processed information. The user device12′ may push or otherwise send a portion of the processed informationand/or the EC data slices 45 of the processed information to one or moreof the other user devices 12 or 14 based on the request and/or based onanother factor (e.g., a push data indicator, from time to time, topic, apriority, content of the processed social networking data, etc.).

In a further example of operation, the dispersed storage processing unit16 receives social networking data 104 that is generated internally whenimplemented as part of user device 12′ or received from one or more ofthe user devices 12 or 14. The social networking data 104 can include asocial group identifier, names, places, times, dates, statistics, userprofile information, blog data or other text, images, video, graphics ormessages or other social networking information. Dispersed storagemetadata associated with the social networking data is generated by thedispersed storage processing unit 16. In addition, a full record and oneor more partial records are generated by the dispersed storageprocessing unit 16, based on the social networking data 114 and furtherbased on the dispersed storage metadata. The full record is processed tocreate EC slices 45 and stored in the dispersed storage network, ineither DS units 36 or one or more memories 100.

The partial record or records can include the dispersed storagemetadata, a summary of the full record and a link to the full record.Summary information can include a title, key points, fragments of text,thumbnails or other reduced resolution of graphics, images or video, orother information that can inform users as to the content or subjectmatter of the full record, prior to access to the full record itself.The partial records can be pushed or otherwise sent to one or more ofthe other user devices 12 or 14 via the network 24. In this fashion, asummary of the full information can be sent to users for review. Usersthat are interested in reviewing the full record can, for instance,request the full record from the dispersed storage processing unit 16,which then proceeds to retrieve the full record from the dispersedstorage network as previously described. In addition, the partialrecords can also be processed to create EC slices 45 and stored in thedispersed storage network, in either DS units 36 or one or more memories100.

The dispersed storage processing unit 16 can utilize cache memory 102for temporary storage of the social networking data 104 until fullrecords and partial records are generated. In one mode of operation,social networking data 104 can be accumulated in the cache memory 102until a sufficient amount of data is stored. For example, social networkdata 104 can be accumulated until a full record is received, or until anumber of full records are generated and cached that correspond to thedesired size of a data block. In other examples of operation, thedispersed storage processing unit 16 can track and update a remainingcache capacity of the cache and trigger either the generation of fulland partial records or the dispersed storage of full and partialrecords, when the remaining cache capacity exceeds a threshold.

In a further mode of operation, dispersed storage processing unit 16 caninclude a timer that tracks the time since the receipt of the lastsocial networking data 104. Full and partial records can be generatedand stored and the cache can be purged when no additional socialnetworking data 104 has been received within a time out period. Inanother mode of operation, the full record can be generated and cachedfor a limited period of time to wait to see if it is requested by a userof a user device 12 or 14 that has just received a partial record thatcorresponds to the full record. If the full record has not beenrequested within the limited time period, as determined by theexpiration of a time out period, the full record can be processed intoEC slices 45 and stored in the dispersed storage network.

In another example of operation, the dispersed storage processing unit16 can choose where the EC slices 45 of full record and partial recordswill be stored, based on information associated with the socialnetworking data 104. In an embodiment of the present invention, thesocial networking application associates the users of user devices intoaffinity groups, by location (e.g. Chicago, or Milwaukee, etc.), areasof interest (e.g. Dodge Viper owners), professional data (e.g. U.S.patent attorneys) demographic data (singles between the ages of 25 and40), other criteria or combinations thereof. These affinity groups canalso be self formed. For example, users may send invitations formembership in affinity group or receive requests for entry in the groupand be admitted to the group upon acceptance by a group administrator orother authorized user. In another mode of operation, affinity groups canbe automatically formed by the social networking application bycomparing user profiles and clustering users. For instance, the socialnetworking application can compare a profile associated with a user withstored profiles associated other users to determine if a new affinitygroup should be formed or a user should be added to an affinity groupthat contains other users.

A number of dispersed storage units 36 (or memories 100) can beassociated with a particular affinity group based on a group ID or otheridentifier. When social networking data 104 is received from a user of aparticular user device 12 or 14, an affinity group that is associatedwith the user, the user device 12 or 14, a group ID included within thesocial networking data 104 or indicated by the subject matter of thesocial networking data 104 itself, can be identified by the dispersedstorage processing unit 16 and used to determine the particulardispersed storage units 36 or memories 100 to be used to store the ECslices 45 generated therefrom. For example, the dispersed storageprocessing unit 16 can determine a user, via their association with theuser device that generated the social network data 104 or from datacontained in the social networking data itself. An affinity group can beidentified that includes the user and the dispersed storage processingunit 16 can determine the particular dispersed storage units 36 ormemories 100 to be used to store the social networking data 104 based ontheir association with the affinity group that is identified.

In another example of operation, dispersed storage units 36 or memories100 can be associated to user devices 12 or 14 or particular users basedon other criteria such as subscription data, fee structures, a desiredlevel of data integrity or security, geographical location or othercriteria. In this further example, the dispersed storage processing unit16 uses these associations to determine the particular dispersed storageunits 36 or memories 100 to be used to store the EC slices 45 generatedtherefrom.

As discussed above, partial records formed from the social networkingdata 104 can be sent to other users for review. In one example ofoperation, the affinity group associated with the user that generatedthe social networking data can be used to determine which other users tosend the partial record to. In particular, an affinity group can beidentified that includes the user and the dispersed storage processingunit 16 can determine the particular other users to send the partialrecord to, based on their association with the affinity group that isidentified. Further, the dispersed storage processing unit 16 candetermine which of the other users in the affinity group are currentlycoupled to the dispersed storage processing unit via the data network,via for instance, by period polling, by determining which users arecurrently logged in, etc. The network address associated with thecurrent users in the affinity group can be determined based on the userdevice 12 or 14 associated with these users. This network address, suchas a MAC address, device address, IP address or other address can beused to route the partial address to the users of the affinity groupthat are currently on-line.

After social networking data 104 has been received and processed in anyof the methods as described above, the dispersed storage processing unit16 can receive a request for the social networking data 104 from one ofthe user devices 12 or 14. As discussed above, the if particular userdevice above had received a partial record associated with the socialnetworking data, the user device could follow a link to retrieve thefull record, either from the memory cache 102 of the dispersed storageprocessing unit 16 or via retrieval from the dispersed storage networkvia the dispersed storage processing unit 16.

In circumstances where a user device 12 or 14, without access to thepartial record, requests the corresponding social networking data 104,the dispersed storage processing unit 16 can retrieve the partial recordfrom the dispersed storage network in response to the request and sendthe partial record to the requesting user device 12 or 14 via thenetwork 24. In an example of operation, the dispersed storage processingunit 16 can, at the same time, retrieve and store the full record incache memory 102. In this fashion, should the user device 12 or 14review the partial record and request the full record from the dispersedstorage processing unit 16, the full record can be quickly retrievedfrom the cache memory 102 and sent to the requesting user device 12 or14 via the network 24. The full record can be purged from the cachememory 102 of the dispersed storage processing unit 16 after fulfillingthe request for the full record, or after the expiration of a time outperiod when no request for the full record has been received.

In one mode of operation, the request for social networking data 104from a user device is a general request. In response to the request, thedispersed storage processing unit 16 can determines which partial recordor records to retrieve, based on the request. For example, the dispersedstorage processing unit 16 can analyze the request to determine a userassociated with the request, determine a particular affinity group thatincludes that particular user and identify one or more partial recordsassociated with that particular affinity group. In another example, therequest for social networking data can include an identification of oneor more affinity groups associated with the user for which socialnetworking data 104 is sought.

Further examples of creation and distribution of social networking data104, including several optional functions and features will be discussedin greater detail with reference to FIGS. 7-8.

Further examples of creation and distribution of social networking data104 and gaming data 114, including several optional functions andfeatures will be discussed in greater detail with reference to FIGS.10-11.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the storing of social networking databy the DS processing unit and/or user device, such as DS processing unit16 and/or user device 12 or 14. The DS processing unit receives socialnetworking data as shown in step 400, such as social networking data104. The social networking data may be received from one or more of theuser devices, another DS processing unit, and/or a source external tothe computing system. The social networking data may include one or moreof a social group identifier (ID), a user ID, a message, a media file, atimestamp, a link to other social networking data or processedinformation, etc.

In step 402, the DS processing unit creates metadata based on the socialnetworking data. The metadata may include one or more of the socialgroup ID, the user ID, key words based on the message, a reference tothe media file, the timestamp, the link to other social networking dataor processed information. The key words may include one or more ofnames, places, phrases, dates, times, etc.

In step 404, the DS processing unit stores the social networking dataand metadata in the cache memory by appending it to any similarpreviously stored social networking data and metadata. Note that as timegoes on the use of the cache will grow. For example, the cache may growfor a group of users utilizing the same social group ID as user devicessend social networking data to the DS processing unit.

In step 406, the DS processing unit determines if it is time tosummarize the previously stored social networking data and metadata. Thedetermination may be based on one or more of cache memory utilizationhas reached a threshold, a request, and/or a time period has elapsedsince the last summary of the similar previously stored socialnetworking data and metadata. The DS processing unit continues toreceive social networking data when the DS processing unit determines itis not time to summarize the previously stored social networking dataand metadata.

As shown in step 408, the DS processing unit determines a summary of thepreviously stored social networking data and metadata when the DSprocessing unit determines if it is time to summarize the previouslystored social networking data and metadata. The determination may bebased on a decomposition of the previously stored social networking dataand metadata into a shorter version of the key points in accordance withanalytic rules. The analytic rules may pertain to any one or more of thesocial group ID, the user ID, key words based on the message, thereference to the media file, and/or the timestamp. For example, theanalytic rules may influence the decomposition to identify key wordsrelated to cars if the social group ID references a car affinity (e.g.,a car club).

As shown in step 410, the DS processing unit binds the summary, themetadata, and the social networking data to produce a full record. TheDS processing unit determines what part of the DSN memory to utilize tostore the full record. The determination may be based on the metadataand/or the availability of the DSN memory. For example, the DSprocessing unit may choose DS units in Milwaukee and memory of userdevices affiliated with a social group ID of 457 in Milwaukee when afull record pertaining to social group ID 457 is to be stored and socialgroup ID 457 is affiliated with Milwaukee.

In step 412, the DS processing unit creates EC data slices of the fullrecord and sends the slices to the chosen portion of the DSN memory(e.g., DS units and/or memory of one or more user devices) with a storecommand.

In step 414, the DS processing unit binds the summary and the metadatato produce a partial record. In step 416, the DS processing unit adds afull record link to the partial record where the full record correspondsto the partial record (e.g., a DSN memory logical address for the fullrecord containing the same summary and metadata).

The DS processing unit determines what part of the DSN memory to utilizeto store the partial record. The determination may be based on themetadata and/or the availability and performance of the DSN memory. Forexample, the DS processing unit may choose DSN memory that will providethe fastest subsequent retrievals for the most likely user devices torequest the partial record.

In step 418, the DS processing unit creates EC data slices of thepartial record and sends the slices to the chosen portion of the DSNmemory (e.g., DS units and/or memory of one or more user devices) with astore command. The DS processing unit may send the partial record touser devices affiliated with the social group ID as shown in step 420.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the retrieving of social networkinginformation where the DS processing unit, such as DS processing unit 16,receives a social networking information request from a requester asshown in step 430. The requester may be one or more of the user devices12 or 14, another DS processing unit 16, and/or a source external to thecomputing system. The desired social networking information may comprisea portion of the partial record and/or a portion of the full record. Thesocial networking information request may include the social group ID,key search words, time ranges, record identifiers, etc.

In step 432, the DS processing unit determines the full and partialrecords based on searching and matching partial records to the socialnetworking information request. The DS processing unit searches forpartial records by matching the request to partial records that are mostlikely to contain the desired information. For example, the request mayindicate the domain of social group 457. The DS processing unitdetermines the DSN memory locations where partial records are stored asslices based on a vault assignment for social group 457. The DSprocessing unit retrieves the slices, de-slices and decodes the slicesinto partial records. The DS processing unit searches the partialrecords for the best matches.

The DS processing unit determines the associated full record based onthe full record link within the partial record. The DS processing unitdetermines the DSN memory locations where slices for full records arestored. The DS processing unit retrieves the slices, de-slices anddecodes the slices into full records. The DS processing unit saves thefull and partial records in cache memory as shown in step 434.

In step 436, the DS processing unit sends the partial record to therequester in response to the social networking information request. Inanother embodiment, the DS processing unit creates EC data slices basedon the partial record and sends the slices to a different portion of theDSN memory. The DS processing unit sends a message to the requestercontaining the virtual address of the different portion of the DSNmemory such that the requester can subsequently retrieve the partialrecord. In yet another embodiment, the DS processing unit sends amessage to the requester containing the virtual address of the DSNmemory where the DS processing unit retrieved the partial record suchthat the requester can subsequently directly retrieve the partialrecord.

The DS processing unit may wait for a period of time to receive arequest for more information from the requester. In step 440, the DSprocessing unit purges the cache memory when the DS processing unitdetermines that the wait is up and there was no request received formore information.

In step 438, the DS processing unit sends the full record to therequester when the DS processing unit determines that the request formore information was received and the wait time was not up. In anotherembodiment, the DS processing unit creates EC data slices based on thefull record and sends the slices to a different portion of the DSNmemory. The DS processing unit sends a message to the requestercontaining the virtual address of the different portion of the DSNmemory such that the requester can subsequently retrieve the fullrecord. In yet another embodiment, the DS processing unit sends amessage to the requester containing the virtual address of the DSNmemory where the DS processing unit retrieved the full record such thatthe requester can subsequently directly retrieve the full record. The DSprocessing unit then purges the cache memory.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a computingsystem that includes a plurality of user devices 12 and 14, the network24, a DS processing unit 16, and the DSN memory 32. As shown, DSprocessing unit 16 is included in either a game server 120 that supportsthe operation of one or more interactive games or is included in a userdevice 12′ that operates as user device 12 and further supports theoperation of one or more interactive games.

The plurality of user devices 12 and 14 includes the computing core 26as previously described to support DS processing 34 and other functionssuch as gaming applications. In addition, one or more user devices 12further include a memory 100 operating in a similar fashion to DS units36 to store dispersed storage data. For example, the computing core 26executes the gaming application and optionally stores gaming data 114such as game state information (e.g., status of play), changes in gamestate from prior game states, game character information or settings,game configuration data or other game data, in the memory 100.

The DS processing unit 16 includes the computing core 26 and cachememory 102 to support DS processing 34 and other functions such asgaming applications. For example, the computing core 26 executes thegaming application and stores, in the cache memory 102, gaming data 114such as game state information (e.g., status of play) or other gamedata.

The plurality of user devices 12 or 14 may communicate data with eachother, the DS processing unit 16, and/or the DSN memory 22 via thenetwork 24. The data may be comprised of EC data slices compatible withthe dispersed storage network. The data may represent gaming data 114such as game state information or other game data. For example, two userdevices 12 or 14 executing a same game session (e.g., playing a groupgame against each other) exchange gaming data 114 with each other andsend gaming data 114 to the DS processing unit 16 for further processingand/or storage (e.g., storing game state information).

The DSN memory 22 includes the plurality of DS units 36 and mayfunctionally include one or more of the memories of the plurality ofuser devices 12 to store slices. For instance, the plurality of userdevices 12 may function as DS units 36 storing slices. DS units 36 maybe geographically aligned with locations of groups of user devices 12 or14. For example, twenty DS units 36 may be aligned in Chicago wherethere are two hundred thousand user devices 12 or 14 that activelyparticipate in a first group of gamers, and ten DS units 36 may bealigned in Milwaukee where there are one hundred thousand user devicesthat actively participate in a second group of gamers.

In an example of operation, the user device creates gaming data 114 andsends it to the DS processing unit 16. The DS processing unit 16processes the gaming data 114 to produce processed information (e.g.,ads, flags, game status, etc.). The DS processing unit 16 creates ECdata slices 45 based on the processed information. The DS processingunit 16 sends the EC data slices 45 to the DSN memory 22 with a storecommand. At least one of the user devices 12 or 14 may send a message tothe DS processing unit 16 that contains a request for processedinformation. The DS processing unit 16 may send a portion of theprocessed information and/or the EC data slices 45 of the processedinformation to one or more of the user devices 12 or 14 based on therequest and/or based on another factor (e.g., a push data indicator,from time to time, a priority, a user device joins or exits a gamesession, etc.).

In another example of operation, the DS processing unit 16 isimplemented in a user device 12″ that creates gaming data 114 andprocesses the gaming data 114 to produce processed information. The userdevice 12″ creates EC data slices 45 based on the processed information.The user device 12″ sends the EC data slices 45 to the DSN memory 22with a store command. At least one of the other user devices 12 may senda message to the user device 12″ that contains a request for processedinformation. The user device 12″ may send a portion of the processedinformation and/or the EC data slices 45 of the processed information toone or more of the other user devices 12 based on the request and/orbased on another factor (e.g., a push data indicator, from time to time,a priority, content of the processed gaming data, a user device joins orexits a game session).

In a further example, game data 114 is received at the dispersed storageprocessing unit 16 and stored in cache memory 102. Dispersed storageprocessing unit 16 generates a data block based on the cached game data114 and further based on dispersed storage metadata that is generatedfor the data block, based on the cached game data. The data block canthen be stored in the dispersed storage network via EC slices 45 storedin a plurality of DC units 36 or memories 100.

In one mode of operation, the dispersed storage processing unit 16determines when to generate a new data block. For example, game data 114can be accumulated until a full pack of data is received, or until theamount of game data 114 cached corresponds to the desired size of a datablock. In other modes of operation, the dispersed storage processingunit 16 can track and update a remaining cache capacity of the cache andtrigger either the generation of data blocks, when the remaining cachecapacity exceeds a threshold. In a further mode of operation, dispersedstorage processing unit 16 can include a timer that tracks the timesince the receipt of the last gaming data 114. A data block can begenerated and stored and the cache can be purged when no additionalgaming data 114 has been received within a time out period. In anothermode of operation, the dispersed storage processing unit can analyze thegaming data 114 to identify a particular game event, such as a userentering the game, a user exiting the game, the users requesting to savethe game, an event associated with the game itself, such as a useradvancing to a higher level or to a new map, or other game event. Theidentification of the game event can be used to trigger the generationand/or storage of the data block by the dispersed storage processingunit 16.

In another example of operation, the dispersed storage processing unit16 can choose where the EC slices 45 of the data blocks will be stored,based on information associated with the gaming data 114. In anembodiment of the present invention, the gaming application associatesthe users of user devices 12 or 14 into affinity groups, by location(e.g. Chicago, or Milwaukee, etc.), by game (e.g. Halo, Tour of Duty,Super Mario Brothers, etc.), or by a particular game session amongparticular players.

A number of dispersed storage units 36 (or memories 100) can beassociated with a particular affinity group based on a group ID or otheridentifier. When gaming data 114 is received from a user of a particularuser device 12 or 14, an affinity group that is associated with theuser, the user device 12 or 14, or a group ID included within the gamingdata 114 can be identified by the dispersed storage processing unit 16and used to determine the particular dispersed storage units 36 ormemories 100 to be used to store the EC slices 45 generated therefrom.For example, the dispersed storage processing unit 16 can determine auser, via their association with the user device that generated thegaming data 114 or from data contained in the gaming data 114, itself.An affinity group can be identified that includes the user and thedispersed storage processing unit 16 can determine the particulardispersed storage units 36 or memories 100 to be used to store thegaming data 114 based on their association with the affinity group thatis identified.

In another example of operation, dispersed storage units 36 or memories100 can be associated to user devices 12 or 14 or particular users basedon other criteria such as subscription data, fee structures, a desiredlevel of data integrity or security, geographical location (e.g. theproximity of a the user device that generated the gaming data 114 to aparticular memory 100 or DS storage unit 36) or other criteria. In thisfurther example, the dispersed storage processing unit 16 uses theseassociations to determine the particular dispersed storage units 36 ormemories 100 to be used to store the EC slices 45 generated therefrom.

In a further example of operation, the dispersed storage processing unit16 receives a request from a player, the request associated with one ofthe user devices 12 or 14. The dispersed storage unit 16 determines ifthe request is associated with an existing game or a new game, based ona game ID or other data included in the request. When an existing gameis requested, a gaming data 114 such as a game state or other game dataassociated with the existing game is retrieved from the dispersedstorage network 16 by dispersed storage processing unit 16. The gamingdata 114 is modified to include the player; and the modified gaming data114 is stored in the dispersed storage network by dispersed storageprocessing unit 16. In addition, the dispersed storage processing unit16 can send the modified gaming data 114 to user device 12 or 14associated with the player that requested to enter the game and to theuser device 12 or 14 associated with other players in the game.

In the example discussed above, where the players request is not for anexiting game, and instead, is for a new game, the dispersed storageprocessing unit 16 generates new gaming data 114, such as a new gamestate or other gaming data that includes the player. The new game data114 can be stored in the dispersed storage network via the dispersedstorage processing unit 16 and sent to the user device 12 or 14associated with the player that generated the request. In particular,the dispersed storage processing unit 16 can determine which DS units 36and memories 100 to be used to store the EC slices generated based onthe new gaming data 114 using any of the techniques previouslydescribed, such as association to the game or game session, associatedto the player, the proximity to the location of the user device 12 or 14associated with the player, one or more other affinity groups thatinclude the player, etc.

Further examples of creation and distribution of gaming data 114,including several optional functions and features will be discussed ingreater detail with reference to FIGS. 10-11.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the storing of gaming data, such asgaming data 114, via a DS processing unit 16 included in game server 120or user device 12″. The DS processing unit 16 receives the gaming datafrom one or more user devices 12 or 14 and/or another unit or element ofthe system as shown in step 500. In particular, the gaming data may bereceived at the beginning of a new game session, from time to timeduring the game session (e.g., a stream of updates to the gaming datafrom one or more of the user devices), or after the conclusion of thegame session.

The gaming data may include one or more of a game ID, game session ID,player ID, start time, game time, game state of play, and/or playerstate of play. Note that a game session ID may identify a particularinstance of a game application running on one or more user devices wherethe one or more user devices interact with each other (e.g., competeagainst each other, team with each other for a shared goal).

In step 502, the DS processing unit stores the gaming data in cachememory and may append the gaming data just received to a record alreadyin the cache memory of similar gaming data received earlier (e.g., forthe same active game session). Note that as time goes on the use of thecache will grow. For example, the cache may grow for game session X101as user devices participating in game session X101 send gaming data tothe DS processing unit.

In step 504, the DS processing unit determines if it is time to transferthe gaming data from the cache memory to DSN memory. The determinationmay be based on one or more of cache memory utilization has reached athreshold, a request, game time, game state of play, player state ofplay, and/or a time period has elapsed since the last transfer of gamingdata for this game session. The DS processing unit continues to receivegaming data when the DS processing unit determines it is not time totransfer the gaming data from the cache memory to DSN memory.

In step 506, the DS processing unit determines what part of the DSNmemory to utilize to store the gaming data from the cache memory whenthe DS processing unit determines it is time to transfer the gaming datafrom the cache memory to DSN memory. Note that the DSN memory mayinclude DS units and the memory of one or more user devices. Thedetermination may be based on the game ID (e.g., use predetermined DSunits for certain games), an affiliation between the player ID and DSNmemory (e.g., similar geographic locations), game time, game state ofplay, player state of play, and/or the availability of the DSN memory.For example, the DS processing unit may choose DS units near Las Vegasand memory of user devices affiliated with game session X101 near LasVegas when gaming data pertaining to game session X101 is to betransferred from cache memory to DSN memory.

In step 508, the DS processing unit creates EC data slices of the gamingdata in cache memory and sends the slices to the chosen portion of theDSN memory (e.g., DS units and/or memory of one or more user devices)with a store command.

In another embodiment, the DS processing unit sends the gaming data fromthe cache memory to the one or more user devices affiliated with thesame game session ID. In yet another embodiment, the DS processing unitcreates EC data slices of the gaming data from the cache memory andsends the slices to a different portion of the DSN memory. The DSprocessing unit sends a message to the one or more user devicesaffiliated with the same game session ID containing the virtual addressof the different portion of the DSN memory such that the user device cansubsequently retrieve the gaming data.

FIG. 11 is another flowchart illustrating the storing of gaming datawhere the DS processing unit 16 included in game server 120 or userdevice 12″ receives a game request as shown in step 510. The request toenter a game can originate from one or more user devices 12 or 14 and/oranother unit or element of the system.

The game request may include the player ID, the game ID, the gamesession ID, the game state of play, the player state of play, the gametime, and a scenario indicator. Portions of the request may specify anID or a wildcard (e.g., any game session, any game, any state of gameetc.). The scenario indicator may indicate that the user device desiresto start a new game session (e.g., at the beginning, or at some gamestate of play beyond the beginning), join an already in progress livegame session, or enter a previously played game session based on thegame state of play (e.g., rerun a game session stored in the DSNmemory).

In step 512, the DS processing unit determines the game session based onone or more of the game request, the game state of active game sessions,and/or the gaming data stored in the DSN memory. For example, thescenario indicator may indicate the user device is requesting toinitiate a new game session. In another example, the scenario indicatormay indicate that the user device is requesting to join any active gamesession in progress of a particular game ID. The DS processing unitdetermines the active game sessions for the game ID by a table look upof active game sessions in cache memory and/or from the DSN memory andmay randomly choose a game session. In another example, the scenarioindicator may indicate that the user device is requesting to recreate apreviously played game session. The DS processing unit determines thegame session ID based on the request and searching the DSN memory forthe matching gaming data (e.g., the request may not fully specify thegame session ID).

The DS processing unit carries out the following steps when the DSprocessing unit determines the game session to be new. In step 514, theDS processing unit creates the initial game state of play based on thegame request and parameters of the game. In step 516, the DS processingunit determines the DSN memory for the new game session. Thedetermination may be based on one or more of the player ID, the game ID,performance requirements, and/or DSN memory availability. For example,the DS processing unit may choose DSN units near the user deviceassociate with the player ID and may include the memory of the userdevice.

The DS processing unit bundles the game state of play and any other gamedata (e.g., player ID, game ID, game session ID, virtual address of DSNmemory, game state of play, player state of play, etc.) to createinitial gaming data for this new game session. In step 518, the DSprocessing unit creates EC data slices of the gaming data and sends theslices and a store command to the DSN memory.

In step 520, the DS processing unit sends the gaming data to the userdevice. In another embodiment, the DS processing unit sends the virtualDSN address of the gaming data to the user device such that the userdevice may subsequently access the gaming data directly from the DSNmemory.

The DS processing unit carries out the following steps when the DSprocessing unit determines the game session not to be new. In step 522,the DS processing unit determines the DSN memory for the existing gamesession. The game session may be live or not live with gaming datastored in the DSN memory. The determination may be based on one or moreof the player ID, the game ID, game state of play, player state of play,and/or the game session ID. For example, the DS processing unit maysearch the DSN memory for the best match.

In step 524, the DS processing unit retrieves the gaming data from theDSN memory. The DS processing unit may determine if the age of thegaming data is beyond an age threshold (e.g., too old) and the DSprocessing unit may retrieve current gaming data from the current userdevices engaged in the game session when the gaming data is beyond theage threshold. In another embodiment, the DS processing unit may send asuspend game request to the current user devices engaged in the gamesession to further synchronize the addition of a new player to anexisting game session.

In step 526, the DS processing unit modifies the gaming data to reflectthe addition of the new player ID. In another embodiment, the gamerequest includes an indicator to add one or more automated players(e.g., players hosted by the DS processing unit). The DS processing unitinitiates the automated player and modifies the gaming data accordingly.

In step 528, the DS processing unit creates EC data slices of the gamingdata and sends the slices and a store command to the DSN memory.

In step 530, the DS processing unit sends the gaming data to the userdevice (e.g., to the affected players). In another embodiment, the DSprocessing unit sends the virtual DSN address of the gaming data to theuser device such that the user device may subsequently access the gamingdata directly from the DSN memory.

As may be used herein, the terms “substantially” and “approximately”provides an industry-accepted tolerance for its corresponding termand/or relativity between items. Such an industry-accepted toleranceranges from less than one percent to fifty percent and corresponds to,but is not limited to, component values, integrated circuit processvariations, temperature variations, rise and fall times, and/or thermalnoise. Such relativity between items ranges from a difference of a fewpercent to magnitude differences. As may also be used herein, theterm(s) “coupled to” and/or “coupling” and/or includes direct couplingbetween items and/or indirect coupling between items via an interveningitem (e.g., an item includes, but is not limited to, a component, anelement, a circuit, and/or a module) where, for indirect coupling, theintervening item does not modify the information of a signal but mayadjust its current level, voltage level, and/or power level. As mayfurther be used herein, inferred coupling (i.e., where one element iscoupled to another element by inference) includes direct and indirectcoupling between two items in the same manner as “coupled to”. As mayeven further be used herein, the term “operable to” indicates that anitem includes one or more of power connections, input(s), output(s),etc., to perform one or more its corresponding functions and may furtherinclude inferred coupling to one or more other items. As may stillfurther be used herein, the term “associated with”, includes directand/or indirect coupling of separate items and/or one item beingembedded within another item. As may be used herein, the term “comparesfavorably”, indicates that a comparison between two or more items,signals, etc., provides a desired relationship. For example, when thedesired relationship is that signal 1 has a greater magnitude thansignal 2, a favorable comparison may be achieved when the magnitude ofsignal 1 is greater than that of signal 2 or when the magnitude ofsignal 2 is less than that of signal 1.

The present invention has also been described above with the aid ofmethod steps illustrating the performance of specified functions andrelationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functionalbuilding blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined hereinfor convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences canbe defined so long as the specified functions and relationships areappropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences arethus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.

The present invention has been described above with the aid offunctional building blocks illustrating the performance of certainsignificant functions. The boundaries of these functional buildingblocks have been arbitrarily defined for convenience of description.Alternate boundaries could be defined as long as the certain significantfunctions are appropriately performed. Similarly, flow diagram blocksmay also have been arbitrarily defined herein to illustrate certainsignificant functionality. To the extent used, the flow diagram blockboundaries and sequence could have been defined otherwise and stillperform the certain significant functionality. Such alternatedefinitions of both functional building blocks and flow diagram blocksand sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimedinvention. One of average skill in the art will also recognize that thefunctional building blocks, and other illustrative blocks, modules andcomponents herein, can be implemented as illustrated or by discretecomponents, application specific integrated circuits, processorsexecuting appropriate software and the like or any combination thereof.

1. A method for use in conjunction with a dispersed storage processingunit coupled to a data network, the method comprising: receiving gamedata at the dispersed storage processing unit, the game data associatedwith at least one of a plurality of user devices; storing the game datain a cache memory associated with the dispersed storage processing unit;generating dispersed storage metadata associated with the cached gamedata; generating a data block based on the cached game data and furtherbased on the dispersed storage metadata; storing the data block in adispersed storage network.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:determining when to generate the data block.
 3. The method of claim 2further comprising: updating a remaining cache capacity associated withthe cache; wherein the determination of when to generate the data blockis based on the remaining cache capacity.
 4. The method of claim 2wherein the determination of when to generate the data block is based onexpiration of a time out period.
 5. The method of claim 2 furthercomprising: analyzing the game data to identify a game event; whereinthe determination of when to generate the data block is triggered by thegame event.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining aplurality of dispersed storage units for use in storing the data block;wherein storing the data block in the dispersed storage network includesstoring slices formed from the data block in the plurality of dispersedstorage units.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the determination of theplurality of dispersed storage units includes: determining a locationassociated with the at least one of the plurality of user devices; andidentifying at least one of the plurality of dispersed storage unitsbased on proximity to the at least one of the plurality of user devices.8. The method of claim 6 wherein the determination of the plurality ofdispersed storage units includes: associating at least one of theplurality of dispersed storage units to the user of the at least one ofthe plurality of user devices; and identifying at least one of theplurality of dispersed storage units based on its association to theuser.
 9. The method of claim 6 wherein the determination of theplurality of dispersed storage units includes: identifying a gameassociated with the game data; associating at least one of the pluralityof dispersed storage units to the game; and identifying at least one ofthe plurality of dispersed storage units based on its association to thegame.
 10. The method of claim 6 wherein at least one of the plurality ofdispersed storage units includes a memory associated with the at leastone of the plurality of user devices.
 11. A method for use inconjunction with a dispersed storage processing unit coupled to a datanetwork, the method comprising: receiving a request for a player toenter a game at the dispersed storage processing unit, the requestassociated with at least one of a plurality of user devices; determinewhen an existing game is requested; when the existing game is requested:retrieving, from a dispersed storage network, a game state associatedwith the existing game; modifying the game state to include the player;and storing the modified game state in the dispersed storage network.12. The method of claim 11 further comprising: sending the modified gamestate to the player via the data network.
 13. The method of claim 11further comprising: sending the modified game state to at least oneother player associated with the existing game, via the data network.14. The method of claim 11 further comprising: when the existing game isnot requested: generating a new game state to include the player;storing the new game state in the dispersed storage network.
 15. Themethod of claim 14 further comprising: sending the new game state to theplayer via the data network.
 16. The method of claim 14 furthercomprising: determining a plurality of dispersed storage units for usein storing the new game state; wherein storing the new game state in thedispersed storage network includes storing slices formed from the newgame state in the plurality of dispersed storage units.
 17. The methodof claim 16 wherein the determination of the plurality of dispersedstorage units includes: determining a location associated with the atleast one of the plurality of user devices; and identifying at least oneof the plurality of dispersed storage units based on proximity to the atleast one of the plurality of user devices.
 18. The method of claim 16wherein the determination of the plurality of dispersed storage unitsincludes: associating at least one of the plurality of dispersed storageunits to the player; and identifying at least one of the plurality ofdispersed storage units based on its association to the player.
 19. Themethod of claim 16 wherein the determination of the plurality ofdispersed storage units includes: associating at least one of theplurality of dispersed storage units to a new game; and identifying atleast one of the plurality of dispersed storage units based on itsassociation to the new game.
 20. The method of claim 16 wherein at leastone of the plurality of dispersed storage units includes a memoryassociated with the at least one of the plurality of user devices.